The Lagos state government said it had signed a Joint Venture Agreement with Dula Agro-Services Limited, for the establishment of an Aquaculture Production and Processing Centre under the Lagos Aquaculture Centre of Excellence (LACE) Project.

The state Commissioner for Agriculture, Ms Abisola Olusanya and the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Mr Hakeem Adeniji, signed the agreement on behalf of the state government on Wednesday, in Lagos.

The Chief Operations Officer/Director, Mr Israel Tommy and the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Mr Adeyemi Adeshina, signed on behalf of Dula Agro-Services Limited (Dula).

The project would be jointly financed by both the state government and the private sector investor, under a Public Private Partnership arrangement.

The centre would be located on a 35 ha of land at Igbonla in Eredo Local Council Development Area of the state.

Olusanya noted that the centre, upon completion, would produce 50 million fingerlings, 2,000 tons of table-sized fish, 20,000 tons of processed fish, and 24,000 tons of fish feed per annum.

She said that the centre would be using the latest technology in Recirculating Aquaculture Systems (RAS) and Semi-flow through systems, to generate no fewer than 5,000 smallholder fish farms which would in turn create about 1,000 indirect jobs during the construction phase.

The commissioner added that another 500 direct job opportunities would be created for people, who will be engaged at different phases of the project.

According to her, the centre would be designed to have a hatchery, grow out, processing facilities, feed mill to produce fish feed for the facility and out growers that will be engaged to produce fish to feed the processing plant.

In addition, Olusanya said the centre will conduct research and training focused on farming practices, business skills and other areas that are at the core of sustainable fish production.

“The LACE project will anchor the growth and development of aquaculture, drive the diversification of farmed fish species and contribute to food security.

“It will also support 5,000 fish farmers as well as conduct extensive research and trainings focused on aquaculture farming practices in the State.

“The annual fish demand in Lagos state is estimated at 374,000 tonnes, of which 174,553 tonnes, or 46 per cent, is produced from both captured fisheries and aquaculture annually.

“Therefore, the need to upscale fish production to bridge the shortfall between the demand and supply gap necessitated the obligation to engage in strategic partnerships with innovative companies that have expertise in agro-based developmental projects such as aquaculture.

“The value chain is now a multi-billion Naira industry in the state, providing employment opportunities for thousands of Lagosians.

“As the fastest growing sub-sector of the agro-economy in the state, aquaculture has positioned Lagos on the map of agrarian states in the country.

“The sub-sector, therefore, presents a huge potential for economic development, food security, provision of basic income and livelihoods for value chain actors and support for the transformation of the fisheries ecosystem in the state,“ the commissioner said.

The ceremony was witnessed by the Director General, Office of Public-Private-Partnerships, Mr Ope George, representatives of the Ministry of Justice and other top government functionaries.